5. Giants' pass rush - Justin Tuck - 7 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 FF; Osi Umenyiora - 3 tackles, 1 assist, 3 sacks, 2 INT's. Having played terribly the whole season so far, the Giant's D came out big style against the Bears in a 17-3 victory, spoiling Chicago's unbeaten start. 10 sacks were recorded in all as Jay Cutler was once again exposed by a fallible offensive line. Unlike against the Cowboys, he was not able to find ways around it and left the game at the half with a concussion.
4. Ravens' defensive stars - Haloti Ngata - 8 tackles, 3 assists, 1 sack; Ray Lewis - 7 tackles, 2 assists, 1 INT. Another game, another perfect record ruined, this time the Steelers in a 17-14 reverse. That came thanks to a late TJ Houshmandzadeh TD but the main work was done on the ground, stopping Rashard Mendenhall getting away for big gains and Charlie Batch continuing what amounts to not quite an Indian summer, maybe a Bangladeshi summer...
3. Heroic kickers - I want it known that I came up with this idea before Deion aired it on Primetime. However, I have no proof so on we go. Matt Bryant (Falcons vs 49ers, 42 yds with 2 seconds left in 16-14 win), John Carney (Saints vs Panthers, 25 yds with 3:55 left in 16-14 win) and Josh Scobee (Jaguars vs Colts, 59 yds as time expired in 31-28 win) can all take a bow. It's not often these guys get the limelight (not that this constitutes limelight)
2. Sam Bradford - 23/41, 289 yards, 2 TD's, 1 INT. The number 1 pick has now led the Rams to two straight wins, more than they managed overall last year. Steve Spagnuolo has trusted his young leader to throw the ball, even without an out-and-out lead receiver. Throw in a half-fit RB in Steven Jackson and this 20-3 divisional victory over the Seahawks looks all the more impressive. Things are looking promising for the young QB.
1. LaDanian Tomlinson - 19 carries, 133 yards, 2 TD's; 3 receptions, 22 yards. Now THIS could be the start of an Indian summer. The Jets offense continued to impress in a 38-14 pounding of the abysmal Buffalo Bills, but it was the renaissance of LT that particularly caught the eye. This was the first time since 2008 where he carried for over 100 yards in a game. He appears revitalised since his move from San Diego and is even keeping hot prospect Shonn Greene on the sidelines a lot of the time, rather than playing the backup role that was expected of him on his arrival.
Graeme's Top 5
5. San Diego Defence - 9 sacks, 2 INT's, 1 Pick 6, 1 Forced Fumble, limited Arizona to 124 total yards - The team from the city named after a whale's vagina simply routed the miserable looking Cardinals, whose big play offense struggled to even play mediocre football.
4. Peyton Hillis - 27 carries, 102 yards, 1 TD - He's a white man, and he rushed for 100 yards. He gets in automatically (much like Deion gets to put people in automatically, so do I. I'm just way less cool than him). The fact that he has been consistently dismissed throughout his career (as being slow, merely a fullback and, well, white) and that his performance against a decent Bengals D got the Browns their first win help as well.
3. Kyle Orton - 35/50, 341 yards, 2 TD's - Orton is the entire Broncos Offense. He got absolutely no help whatsoever from the run game (well, not nothing. The perpetually awful Lawrence Maroney netted a whole 5 yards on only 11 carries!). In fact, Orton was the Broncos' leading rusher, as well as dragging the team to a good road win against the Titans that they really shouldn't have gotten.
2. Patriots' Special Teams - 1 Kickoff return TD, 1 blocked punt, 1 blocked kick - The Pats reminded us all of the importance of the often-mocked special teams unit. Ben Tate showed his speed has returned following his ACL injury by returning the second half kickoff 103 yards for a TD, and Safety Pat Chung blocked a punt (resulting in a Pats TD) then also got in front of a field goal (which was returned for another Pats TD). To top it off, he also got a pick 6 on D for yet another Pats TD (Rob Ninkovich's 2 INT'S deserve a mention on the side as well). The Special teams' performance resulted in a rout, and the immediate firing of the Dolphins Special Teams coach.
1. Jaguars O-Line - the Jags have lost to the Colts enough to know what to expect from them. This week, though, they were finally able to do something about it. The speed crazed Colts pass rush could not get near David Garrard, and the QB was able to demonsrate the accurate arm and decent mobility he can exploit when not constantly getting hit or sacked. The young pair of tackles, Eben Britton and Eugene Monroe, did not concede a sack and rarely let Colts Ends Freeney and Mathis anywhere near their QB. As an entire unit, the line also gave Pocket Hercules, Maurice Jones-Drew, exemplary run blocking and allowed him to top 100 yards.
GM and RM
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